It's more fun in the Balcony!

In The Balcony

The first of Lugosi's famed "Monogram Nine" pictures, and one of the more interesting films he'd ever make in his career. Which isn't too say that it's GOOD you understand; it sure is fascinating, though, mostly for all the wrong reasons but then, it does boast director Joseph H. Lewis, who went on to make Gun Crazy and The Big Combo, and not for nothin', but when you've got The Invisible Ghost on your resume, having Gun Crazy on there too sure doesn't hurt your place in cinema history.

Bela is disturbed by the disappearance years ago of his wife, who ran off with some other guy who no doubt wasn't Hungarian. When I say "disturbed", I don't mean "annoyed" or "vexed", I mean, oh, "unhinged" and "demented". He sets a place for her at the table, has his faithful servant Clarence Muse serve her soup, compliments her on how particularly beautiful she looks on any given occasion, and is quite convinced that some day she'll return. Boy, is HE right, because she's actually living under the garage in a secret room; she'd been in an auto accident that gave her brain damage and she's cared for and fed by gardener Ernie Adams, and why he does that we'll never know, but "abject stupidity" is part of the norm with Monogram scripts, so please hush. The plot of the film, such as it is, is that Mrs. Lugosi (played by, of all people, Betty Compson, and if you just said to yourself, "Surely not the Betty Compson from Docks of New York and the 1930 version of The Spoilers? Not the Betty Compson who was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress? SHE didn't end up on Poverty Row, did she? Please, tell me this is some OTHER Betty Compson! PLEASE TELL ME THAT!" To which I can only say, "Life ain't easy, pal, life ain't easy." To say that she's the best actor in this film is like getting a blow job in the bathroom of a McDonald's and then announcing you finally had something there you liked.

Well, on THAT possibly inappropriate note, we return to our film and find Betty wandering around the grounds of Manor Lugosi, where her husband occasionally finds her peering in the window, which sets him off into a homicidal rage and he strangles one of the servants. Apparently, this has been going on for YEARS and (a) the police can't figure out who is behind this, and (b) they don't have any trouble whatsoever hiring new servants. Bela also has a daughter, Loretta Young's lookalike sister but not the one that's Sally Blane, no, this lookalike sister is Polly Ann Young, and she's engaged to a nice young man who used to sleep with the household's new maid, and so when she's murdered he's accused, despite the fact that nearly a hundred other servants have been strangled in the same house, and he's executed but his twin brother shows up to woo Polly Ann and figure out who REALLY killed the girl and I TOLD you Monogram pictures were stupid and by the way, both brothers are played by John McGuire and neither of them can act. Neither can Polly Ann or maid Terry Walker or police detective George Pembroke, who apparently was instructed to "dress like a police detective" and so wears a trench coat and fedora and chomps on an unlit cigar in every scene he's in, no matter where or what he's doing. Seriously, this is one of the worst-acted films I've ever seen. Clearly, director Lewis was concentrating on other things, because it's terrific to look at, with a lot of unusual shots and camera angles and long takes and weird POVs and stuff like that, way above the Monogram Pictures norm.

And then there's that Lugosi fellow.

See, here's the thing... When that ol' debbil takes him over, he acts like a somnambulist, staggering around the house in a daze, arms outstretched, fingers flexing for a warm throat to crush. Lewis lights him from below, so his face is filled with the shadows of eerie madness. In 1941, in the gloom of a darkened theatre, I'm certain it was most horrifying, and worthy of the good name of Bela Lugosi, Master of Screen Terror. Seriously, it's scary. Um, well, that is to say in 1941 it was. Now? If you don't laugh out loud and think it's one of the stupidest things you've ever seen, it's because you fell asleep during the film, always a possibility with these things. It's a rip-snorter. And only Lugosi can say "Apple Pie? My! That WILL be a treat!" and make it sound terrifying. But fret not, there's a lot of million-dollar stupid Monogram dialog in the film for EVERYONE to say.

Million-dollar stupid Monogram dialog:Cop in trench coat and fedora, chomping on unlit cigar: "All we want to know is if the fellow's crazy."Aged, wise psychiatrist guy: "That's very easy to determine."Rotten actor twin brother man: "Is it possible, doctor, for a man to be normal, say, for two or three months at a time and then go completely insane for an hour or two?"Psychiatrist: "Yes. Quite common!"Bela: "This should be most interesting."

Yeah, it SHOULD be, huh?

Actually, as mentioned, the film IS interesting; director Lewis takes crap and makes a tasty omelet out of it (so to speak). There's also something to be said for letting Bela be Bela; none of this "bill him prominently but have him play the red-herring butler or groundskeeper who's only in a few scenes" when Lugosi was at Monogram or PRC, peoples. How many of YOU have got to spend the better part of an hour wandering through a big, dark house with a flashlight under your chin? I mean, in a movie, not in real life.

I always wanted to give a shout out to Clarence Muse, who plays the Negro manservant with dignity and poise and is also one of the best things in the picture. Nice to see a character like this as something other than comic relief.

The Invisible Ghost is in the public domain, meaning it's on a thousand or so DVDs, but the Roan Group also offers it and they have a nice print of it, not great but nice enough until the Criterion folks finally do something with this film.

The first of Lugosi's famed "Monogram Nine" pictures, and one of the more interesting films he'd ever make in his career. Which isn't too say that it's GOOD you understand; it sure is fascinating, though, mostly for all the wrong reasons but then, it does boast director Joseph H. Lewis, who went on to make Gun Crazy and The Big Combo, and not for nothin', but when you've got The Invisible Ghost on your resume, having Gun Crazy on there too sure doesn't hurt your place in cinema history.

Bela is disturbed by the disappearance years ago of his wife, who ran off with some other guy who no doubt wasn't Hungarian. When I say "disturbed", I don't mean "annoyed" or "vexed", I mean, oh, "unhinged" and "demented". He sets a place for her at the table, has his faithful servant Clarence Muse serve her soup, compliments her on how particularly beautiful she looks on any given occasion, and is quite convinced that some day she'll return. Boy, is HE right, because she's actually living under the garage in a secret room; she'd been in an auto accident that gave her brain damage and she's cared for and fed by gardener Ernie Adams, and why he does that we'll never know, but "abject stupidity" is part of the norm with Monogram scripts, so please hush. The plot of the film, such as it is, is that Mrs. Lugosi (played by, of all people, Betty Compson, and if you just said to yourself, "Surely not the Betty Compson from Docks of New York and the 1930 version of The Spoilers? Not the Betty Compson who was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress? SHE didn't end up on Poverty Row, did she? Please, tell me this is some OTHER Betty Compson! PLEASE TELL ME THAT!" To which I can only say, "Life ain't easy, pal, life ain't easy." To say that she's the best actor in this film is like getting a blow job in the bathroom of a McDonald's and then announcing you finally had something there you liked.

Well, on THAT possibly inappropriate note, we return to our film and find Betty wandering around the grounds of Manor Lugosi, where her husband occasionally finds her peering in the window, which sets him off into a homicidal rage and he strangles one of the servants. Apparently, this has been going on for YEARS and (a) the police can't figure out who is behind this, and (b) they don't have any trouble whatsoever hiring new servants. Bela also has a daughter, Loretta Young's lookalike sister but not the one that's Sally Blane, no, this lookalike sister is Polly Ann Young, and she's engaged to a nice young man who used to sleep with the household's new maid, and so when she's murdered he's accused, despite the fact that nearly a hundred other servants have been strangled in the same house, and he's executed but his twin brother shows up to woo Polly Ann and figure out who REALLY killed the girl and I TOLD you Monogram pictures were stupid and by the way, both brothers are played by John McGuire and neither of them can act. Neither can Polly Ann or maid Terry Walker or police detective George Pembroke, who apparently was instructed to "dress like a police detective" and so wears a trench coat and fedora and chomps on an unlit cigar in every scene he's in, no matter where or what he's doing. Seriously, this is one of the worst-acted films I've ever seen. Clearly, director Lewis was concentrating on other things, because it's terrific to look at, with a lot of unusual shots and camera angles and long takes and weird POVs and stuff like that, way above the Monogram Pictures norm.

And then there's that Lugosi fellow.

See, here's the thing... When that ol' debbil takes him over, he acts like a somnambulist, staggering around the house in a daze, arms outstretched, fingers flexing for a warm throat to crush. Lewis lights him from below, so his face is filled with the shadows of eerie madness. In 1941, in the gloom of a darkened theatre, I'm certain it was most horrifying, and worthy of the good name of Bela Lugosi, Master of Screen Terror. Seriously, it's scary. Um, well, that is to say in 1941 it was. Now? If you don't laugh out loud and think it's one of the stupidest things you've ever seen, it's because you fell asleep during the film, always a possibility with these things. It's a rip-snorter. And only Lugosi can say "Apple Pie? My! That WILL be a treat!" and make it sound terrifying. But fret not, there's a lot of million-dollar stupid Monogram dialog in the film for EVERYONE to say.

Million-dollar stupid Monogram dialog:Cop in trench coat and fedora, chomping on unlit cigar: "All we want to know is if the fellow's crazy."Aged, wise psychiatrist guy: "That's very easy to determine."Rotten actor twin brother man: "Is it possible, doctor, for a man to be normal, say, for two or three months at a time and then go completely insane for an hour or two?"Psychiatrist: "Yes. Quite common!"Bela: "This should be most interesting."

Yeah, it SHOULD be, huh?

Actually, as mentioned, the film IS interesting; director Lewis takes crap and makes a tasty omelet out of it (so to speak). There's also something to be said for letting Bela be Bela; none of this "bill him prominently but have him play the red-herring butler or groundskeeper who's only in a few scenes" when Lugosi was at Monogram or PRC, peoples. How many of YOU have got to spend the better part of an hour wandering through a big, dark house with a flashlight under your chin? I mean, in a movie, not in real life.

I always wanted to give a shout out to Clarence Muse, who plays the Negro manservant with dignity and poise and is also one of the best things in the picture. Nice to see a character like this as something other than comic relief.

The Invisible Ghost is in the public domain, meaning it's on a thousand or so DVDs, but the Roan Group also offers it and they have a nice print of it, not great but nice enough until the Criterion folks finally do something with this film.

Dietrich & von Sternberg in Hollywood (Criterion BD or DVD, $125.95) Well, isn’t this nice: a restored, resurrected set of the six films made by one of the more esteemed director-star combinations of the early 1930s. Marlene Dietrich directed by von Sternberg in Morocco (1930), Dishonored (1931), Shanghai Express (1932), Blonde Venus (1932), The Scarlet Empress (1934) and The Devil is a Woman (1935), plus a ton o’ bonus material. Our Official ITB BEST Release of the Month.

The Last House on the Left(Arrow Video BD $49.95) Wes Craven’s 1972 cult horror favorite (a loose remake of The Virgin Spring, believe it or not) in a three-disc set with three different, you should pardon the expression, “cuts” of the film.

Personal Problems (Kino Lorber BD $29.95, DVD $19.95) Bill Gunn’s 1980 drama about the lives of an African-American family and their friends is presented for the first time in full-length, nearly three hour glory, it says here.

The Sartana Collection (Arrow BD $99.95) Five spaghetti westerns of the late 1960s, including, l’see here, If You Meet Sartana... Pray for Your Death; I Am Sartana, Your Angel of Death; Have a Good Funeral, My Friend... Sartana Will Pay; Light the Fuse... Sartana Is Coming; Sartana's Here... Trade Your Pistol for a Coffin. Can they possibly be as good as they sound?

Absurd (Severin Films BD $34.98, DVD $19.98) Another gruesome offering from Joe D’Amato; also released as Zombie 6 and The Grim Reaper 2, and that’s the good thing about these things: you can virtually release ‘em as anything.

The Cyclops (Warner Archive BD $21.99) We live for releases like this: radiation turns a crashed test pilot into a 50-foot one-eyed monster! And it’s from Bert I. “Mr. BIG” Gordon and was released in that magical monster movie year of 1957! And it stars Lon Chaney and Gloria Talbott! Our easy pick for Official ITB BEST Release of the Month!

The Day of the Jackal (Arrow Video BD $39.95) Fred Zinnemann directed Edward Fox in this quintessential 1973 political thriller about a plot to kill DeGaulle.

Exorcist II: The Heretic(Shout! Factory BD $34.92) This 1977 sequel from John Boorman with Richard Burton(!) as the priest is NOT the absolute worst movie we’ve ever seen… but it’s on the shortlist.

The Farmer's Daughter (Kino BD $29.95, DVD $14.95) Oscar® winner Loretta Young involved in a political rivalry/romance with Joseph Cotten in this 1947 classic.

Good Times (Kino BD $29.95, DVD $19.95) William Friedkin directed (making his non-documentary debut) and Sonny and Cher star in their film debut (1967) in a simply terrible non-plot musical mélange.

The Man Who Cheated Himself(Flicker Alley BD $39.95) The latest restoration from Film Noir Foundation, UCLA and Flicker Alley, this is a 1950 crime drama with Lee J. Cobb as a cop covering up a murder he himself committed. Jane Wyatt co-stars.

Queen of Outer Space(Warner Archive BD $21.99) One of the great science-fiction films of all time, but you know how loosely we bandy about the word “great.” Laurie Mitchell is the Queen of Venus and Zsa Zsa Gabor(!) is her scheming handmaiden in this daffy, wonderful Technicolor splendor from 1958.

A Raisin in the Sun (Criterion BD $39.95, DVD $29.95) 1961 film version of the groundbreaking Broadway play featured the entire New York cast, led by Sidney Poitier and Ruby Dee.

The Blood Island Collection (Severin BD $79.99) Notorious 1960s gore-and-nudity films from director Eddie Romero and star John Ashley, for the most part, filmed in the Philippines. Includes Brides of Blood, Mad Doctor of Blood Island, Beast of Blood, Terror is a Man. Also available separately ($29.98 each); the boxed set includes a CD of music from the films.

The Blue Dahlia(Shout! Factory BD $27.99) Murder and Mystery and a “honey of a rough ‘em up romance” (NY Times) in this noir classic, 1946, from director George Stevens and Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, and William Bendix.

Bogart & Bacall: The Complete Collection(Warner Bros. BD $39.99) Well, as I’m sure you’re all aware, this will contain To Have and Have Not, The Big Sleep, Dark Passage, and Key Largo. Of course.

Cabaret(Warner Archive BD $21.99) Bob Fosse directed this hit 1972 musical loosely adapted from the Broadway show; Cabaret is the answer to the trivia question, “Which movie won the most Oscars® without winning Best Picture?” One of the trophies went home to star Liza Minnelli.

De Palma & De Niro: The Early Films (Arrow US BD $69.95) What fresh hell is this? Includes The Wedding Party (1963), Greetings (1968), and Hi, Mom! (1970).

Divorce in the Family (Warner Archive DVD $21.99) On of Jackie Cooper’s first MGM features (1932), a drama with Lewis Stone and Jean Parker.

Fanchon the Cricket (Flicker Alley BD+DVD Combo, $39.95) 1915 film with Mary Pickford, newly restored with a specially commissioned score courtesy of the Pickford Institute. Also available today, Miss Pickford as Little Annie Rooney (1925), same company, formats, and price.

The Fifth Floor (Code Red BD $29.95, DVD $19.95) A young disco dancer overdoses and is committed to an asylum and that’s enough plot for any of us, I should think, regarding this 1978 film.

The Last Movie (Arbelos Films BD $39.99, DVD $29.99) Dennis Hopper directed and stars in this notorious flop from 1971, filmed in Peru with Michelle Phillips and Peter Fonda. Easy Rider it ain’t.

Made for Each Other (Kino BD $29.95) Jimmy Stewart and Carole Lombard get married on the day they meet, and have to deal with the consequences later. John Cromwell directs for David O. Selznick, 1939. Also available today, same format and price, Selnick’s 1937 screwball comedy Nothing Sacred, with Miss Lombard and Fredric March.

Man of the People(Warner Archive DVD $21.99) Joseph Calleia is an idealistic Italian immigrant who tangles with gangsters in this 1937 drama with an interesting cast, including Florence Rice, Ted Healy, and Thomas Mitchell.

Perversion Story (Mondo Macabro BD $29.95) No idea, but it was directed by Lucio Fulci, 1969.

The Satanic Rites of Dracula(Warner Archive BD $21.99) In the 1970s Hammer Films wrung what it could out of Christopher Lee and a set of blood-shot eye contact lenses. The results, my friends, were not pretty.

School for Love (Futures Vedettes) (Cinetrove International BD $29.98) 1955 role for sexpot Brigitte Bardot.

Some Like It Hot(Criterion BD $39.95, DVD $29.95) Many people consider Billy Wilder’s 1959 classic the greatest of all screen comedies; Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemmon co-star.

Tarzan’s Greatest Adventure(Warner Archive BD $21.99) Gordon Scott is a literate Tarzan in this 1959 installment of the long-running series; Anthony Quayle and Sean Connery co-star in what fans consider one of the best of all Tarzan pictures (hence the title, I guess).

Topper Returns(VCI BD $29.95) 1941 conclusion to the Topper trilogy from the Hal Roach studio. Roland Young and Billie Burke return from the earlier films; the spunky she-spirit this time is Joan Blondell. (The first Topper film is already on Blu-ray; the second film in the series is being released later this month.)

The Thirteenth Chair (Warner Archive DVD $21.99) Includes both the 1929 Todd Browning-directed version with Bela Lugosi as a police inspector(!) and the 1939 remake directed by George Seitz and starring Lewis Stone in the Lugosi role.

The Wizard of Gore(Arrow Video BD $34.95) Oh, brother. If you don’t know the name of Herschell Gordon Lewis, flee from it. This is a film from 1970 that lives up to its title and down to its budget.

RELEASES FOR END OF NOVEMBER POSTED LATER THIS WEEK!

Bill of Divorcement (Kino BD $24.95, DVD $19.95) John Farrow’s 1940 remake of the 1932 classic with John Barrymore and Katharine Hepburn. This time, it’s Adolphe Menjou and Maureen O’Hara.

The Midnight Man (Kino BD $29.95, DVD $19.95) Burt Lancaster stars and co-directed this 1974 film about a cop just outta stir for killin’ his wife and her lover.

The Mole People (Shout! Factory BD $27.99) 1956 sci-fi favorite with John Agar and Hugh Beaumont traveling to the bowels of the earth and running into some very kooky people. Universal is now licensing their remaining horror and science-fiction titles to other companies rather than releasing them to Blu-ray themselves, which is a good thing – lots more bonus material. This edition has two aspect ratios for the film, commentary, a making-of documentary, and the complete MST3K version of the film.

The Rover (a/k/a L'Avventuriero) (Kino BD $29.95, DVD $19.95) Based on the novel by Joseph Conrad, Anthony Quinn stars in this war picture and Terence Young directs, 1967.

To Sleep with Anger (Criterion BD $39.95, DVD $29.95) 1990 drama from writer-director Charles Burnett, who had previously made the brilliant Killer of Sheep. This was panned on release but has grown in reputation over the years; Danny Glover stars.

The Vengeance of She (Shout! Factory BD $29.99) By the time (1968) Hammer got ‘round to making a sequel to the hit She, Ursula Andress was long gone from the studio and the result is, well, not good. Olinka Bérová has to wreak the vengeance and no, we don’t know who she is, either.

Willard (Shout! Factory BD $29.99) Crispin Glover stars in the surprisingly-not-as-bad-as-you’d-think remake of the 1971 horror classic. The DVD contained a video of Crispin singing “Ben”, which we hope is included in this edition – it’s better than the movie.

Many of the fine films you read about here are available for purchase!

SUPER SPECIAL BALCONY REVIEW OF THE NEW NOIR ARCHIVE BLU-RAY SET! Click the image for the details!

Click the covers to read our reviews of The Deadly Mantis,Return of the Vampire and The Mole People, a trio of, well, second tier horrors given A-level releases from Scream! Factory.

We LOVE classic cliffhangers in the Balcony and we're happy to report the True Facts in the Case of the Serial Series coming your way in the months ahead from our friends at VCI Entertainment! Click the Robot above for the scoop!